Last weekend, thousands of sci-fi and comic book fans descended on the Minneapolis Convention Center for Wizard World’s touring Comic Con.

Peter Tornquist, 26, Eden Prairie

Who are you? Gabriel the Plague Doctor. He is a fictional but historically based character I created for the MN Renaissance Festival. He is based on the medieval plague doctors of the 1340s.

How much time did you put into your costume? Four months.

What comic character was the first to ever capture your imagination? The Lizard. It was because of the radical ideas presented in his story line that I decided to pursue a career in biology, working with reptiles.

Cindy Vu, 21, Minneapolis

Who are you? Wonder Woman.

How much time did you put into your costume? All the armory were handmade from foam and styrene, and it took a week to make all the pieces including the spray painting. The clothes were purchased and the shoes were custom made. I always wear a wig with my cosplays to enhance the costume effect. Makeup usually takes about 2 hours because each individual character has their own facial features.

What superhero was the first to capture your imagination? Wonder Woman. My mom and I would always watch the TV series together.

Lynn Wloszek, 31, Bloomington

Who are you? Princess Leia.

How much time went into your costumes? 10 hours.

What character was the first to ever capture your imagination? Agent Dana Scully from “The X-Files” when I was 10 years old.

Katie Printy, 29, Wayzata

What inspired your costume? I’m dressed in my Steampunk best. The blend of science fiction and the Victorian era is not only wonderfully beautiful but also extremely versatile, creating endless possibilities.

How much time did you spend on it? More than a few months.

What superhero was the first to capture your imagination? Batman. I’m inspired by the idea that you don’t need superpowers to make a difference, and your own personal tragedies can be used to help others.

Sophia Rapacz, 13, Minneapolis

Who are you? Weeping Angel from "Doctor Who."

How much time did you put into your costume? [About] three weeks. One does have to sleep and eat, after all.

What character was the first to ever capture your imagination? I was mesmerized by Cimorene when my dad read me “Dealing With Dragons” from “The Enchanted Forest Chronicles,” by Patricia C. Wrede. Though she was of royal descent, Cimorene hated all the princess-like things, like wearing impractical dresses, looking pretty, learning how to scream correctly if captured by a monster, etc. I was about 6. She was my idol.

Brian Nguyen, 22, Spring Lake Park

Who are you? Batman, from the video game “Batman: Arkham Origins.”

How much time did you put into your costume? It was an off and on [process] that took about five months.

What superhero was the first to ever capture your imagination? Batman, Iron Man and Spider-Man!

Best thing you saw at the convention? Seeing people of all ages, races and genders being able to express themselves without any fear of being judged.

Julia Walchuk, 20, Mankato

Who are you? I’m dressed as Carrie Kelley, who is the Robin from Frank Miller’s “Dark Knight Returns.” I have been inspired by Carrie Kelley since I first read it in eighth grade. I love that she is a female Robin and she is so spunky and tenacious!

How much time did you put into your costume? I started planning in February. Knowing that my sewing skills were sadly lacking, I commissioned Caitlin from Contagious Costuming, and over the next few months I watched her progress online and eagerly awaited the arrival of my costume. During this time I prepared by growing out my hair, dyeing it the proper color, re-reading the graphic novel, watching the movie and practicing my Carrie Kelley slang!

April Josephs, 24, Wayzata

Who are you? Harley Quinn.

How much time did you put into your outfit? My costume was bought from Hot Topic, but the makeup and hair time combined was probably around four to five hours.

What superhero or character was the first to ever capture your imagination? Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki’s animated film “My Neighbor Totoro”. It was released before I was born in 1988, but it is one of my earliest memories from watching animated films.

Anne and Michael Segerstrom with Liam, 5, Mara, 2, and family friend Chris Schmidt of Savage

Who are you guys? Catwoman, Batman, Superman, Batgirl. And Thor.

How much time went into your costumes? Anne and the kids’ costumes were purchased online. Michael’s Batman costume took him about a week to construct. He worked on it late into the night after work.

What superhero was the first to ever capture your imagination? As you can see, our kids are already into super heroes and animated movies and shows. They love DC Comics and Marvel superheroes. For my husband, it was in 1989 when Michael Keaton played Batman that captured his imagination. As a young girl I had Wonder Woman under-roos but it was my fantastic husband that brought out my inner nerd and got me here to Comic Con.

Grace Curtiss, 16, Eden Prairie

Who inspired your costume? My costume is inspired by Idril Celebrindal from J.R.R. Tolkien’s "Silmarillion" and "Book of Lost Tales."

How much time did you put into your outfit? It took me at least a month or two to buy the materials and sew the gown and another 2-3 hours for hair and makeup.

What superhero was the first to ever capture your imagination? When I was really young I was completely obsessed with "The Lord of the Rings," especially with Arwen. My dad read the books to me as bedtime stories, and sometimes we spend entire weekends rewatching the movies.

Andrew Cameron, 26, Maple Grove

Who are you? Tsubaka no Gaara from "Naruto Shippuden."

How much time did you put into your costume? About a month as this was my first costume I’ve made.

What superhero or character was the first to ever capture your imagination? "Star Wars" when I was around 6 years old.

Jesse Huber, 32, Brainerd [far left with pack]

Who inspired your costume? I was inspired by the whole "Ghostbusters" thing when I was five and watched the first film.

How much time went into your costumes? It took me just over one year to gather items and parts to construct and complete. I also am in the process of restoring/building an actual vintage Cadillac ambulance car like they used as their car in the movie.

What character was the first to ever capture your imagination? Egon Spengler from "Ghostbusters." He was a great scientist, which really influenced me because my late grandfather was also a real-life science teacher.